Jesus Interrupted, by Pastor KinseyThat’s a long gospel reading! But it’s also a compelling story. I think, if it were a movie, or a TV show, or a YouTube, it might be up for an award! It could be for Best Drama, with its portrayal of life overcoming death, or for Best Actor, for the pleading anguish of the rich ruler, or the poor widow, struck with a mysterious and chronic illness. Mark is often hailed as the simple, straight forward Gospel, short and to the point. But Mark also uses a rather sophisticated technique in his work, which we see in this story, and at many other junctures in the gospel, called interlacing, or sandwiching one story within another. In this case, healing Jairus’ daughter is the outer bread, if you will, and the woman whose doctors couldn’t heal her hemorrhaging for 12 years, is the Sub of the Day filling! But what raises the tension in this story is how Jesus is unexpectedly interrupted. The story begins with Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, coming to plead for help for his seriously ill daughter, who is presented as the properly sanctioned petitioner. And on the way to his house, this unsanctioned, un-named woman, sneaks up on Jesus and steals away some of his healing power without his permission. And “how” Jesus reacts to this interruption is what draws us in. What will Jesus do, or say?President Obama was interrupted this week as well. You may have missed it amongst all his many appearances in the news. I mean, as President, he’s in the news every week, right. But this week was a bit more noteworthy! Three major cases were decided by the Supreme Court, that he reacted to, all falling in his favor, including, Marriage Equality, which was made the law of the land, on Friday! Whoohoo! And, interlacing the release of these weighty decisions were yet other notable events, like President Obama flying down to SC on Friday, to give the Eulogy at Pastor Clementa Pinkney’s funeral. But the interruption I’m thinking of was on Wednesday at the White House, when President Obama hosted a dinner for dozens of leaders in the LGBT movement honoring Pride month. He was not reacting to the week’s exceptional news cycle, but simply fulfilling an obligation that was prearranged, in a proper and formal setting. The Marriage Equality decision by the Supreme Court was still two days away, but there was still lots to celebrate. The President is perceived as a friend, for the most part, in the lgbt community, ever since his positive, public, though somewhat ponderous decision, to both personally and politically support marriage equality, and most other gay civil rights for the LGBT community. And so, going into Pride Weekend, this was a well-choreographed affair, and President Obama was in control, and doing what he does best. He is an eloquent speaker, and a leader who wants to bridge divides: between the two political parties, between peoples of all races, between the LGBT and straight communities. And in this sense, we may even see him as a healer, of sorts. And so, As he delivered his remarks on Wednesday to the appreciative crowd, suddenly, out of the packed room, a voice rang out, interrupting him. “President Obama, release all LGBTQ immigrants from detention.” And, “I am tired of the violence we’re facing.” President Obama paused and looked her way, and said, “you know what?” Pause. “Listen,” he said. “You’re in my house,” hoping to quiet her down. And the crowd chuckled, before she was escorted out. The interrupter was Jennicet Gutiérrez. She was invited to the gathering because she is a Latina leader with a group called FAMILIA TQLM and for her courageous work against lgbtq deportations. Immigrant trans women, it turns out, are 12 times more likely to face discrimination because of their gender identity. “I have spoken with my trans immigrant sisters who were recently released from detention centers,” said Gutiérrez in a statement the day after the White House event. And “With a lot of emotional pain and heavy tears in their eyes, they [described] how they’re greeted in this country [by ICE officials, and] the horrendous treatment they all experienced: at times misgendered, exposed to assault, and put in detention centers with men.”So, the woman in the crowd, Ms. Gutiérrez, was determined. “Release all LGBTQ immigrants from detention and stop all deportations,” she demanded. And she was able to steal just a little power away from the President. Her interruption was impolite, but far less offensive than the violence of the injustice she brought to light! Though Jairus is presented as the main-line, acceptable character, in the gospel story, and Jesus agrees to go to his house, the un-named widow in her poverty, with her secretive approach, is actually given just as much of the story line in this sandwiched, interlacing, by Mark. Her illness is quite detailed: the pain and embarrassment she endures, the oppression she lives every day as an outcast, the desperation she feels being exploited, and that drives her to act in this risky way. We learn much about her, as well as how Jesus and his disciples react to her. When the woman secretly touches just a portion of Jesus’ robe, immediately Jesus was aware that power had gone forth from him, and he wheeled around, asking, who did this?! Who touched my clothes? Is Jesus angry? His disciples seem perplexed. They tell him, oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry about it. And anyway, in this crowd, there’s no way to figure out who it is. And that may have been true. But the woman’s conscience compels her to confess. And falling on her knees before Jesus, she tells him the whole truth. And Jesus just listens. He is not angry. He is filled with compassion, knowing her poverty, her oppression, and her courageous act. Jesus calls it faith: daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.No one plans for interruptions! They don’t follow the script we have for where we want to go in our lives. But as Alice prayed here in our assembly last week, sometimes the interruptions are messages from Jesus, and if we pay attention, lives may be changed.Tomorrow, at our next Moral Monday, we will be interrupting normally sanctioned business, to shine a light on the laws, and a Budget, that protect the already rich, and which come at the expense and exploitation of working families and the poor, and are therefore immoral. And that we forget or ignore what is happening, at our own peril, and risk losing the values that give life to our society – values we hold dear as a people of faith. Ms. Gutiérrez interrupted a lovely White House banquet on Wednesday, in the spirit of Pride Month, with a reminder that a whole population in the lgbt movement is still at risk, and experiencing violence, daily. The woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years, interrupted Jesus. And Jesus declared that her faith made her well. And after Jesus was interrupted, he went on to Jairus’ house and lifted up his 12 year old daughter from her death bed. Twelve is a highly symbolic number in the scriptures, especially symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. And by the end of this gospel story, we know there is still more going on here. Jesus is healing the nation, and restoring the people of God. Not by imposing order from above, but rather by lifting up the people who are in pain and oppressed, those who have been impoverished by an exploitative government, and been made to feel outcast. Jesus lifts up the next generation of leaders from their beds of slumber, and even listens compassionately to those who are, interrupters, and citizens without credentials. This is the world that Jesus creates! This is the kingdom and realm of God that is at hand, and has arrived by the spirit of the 12 tribes, the people of God. And all who witnessed it, according to the Gospel of Mark, were overcome with amazement! Let the daughters and sons of the kingdom of God arise! Our faith has made us well, and set the oppressed free! Be healed, and go in peace!

Peace in the Storm (Sermon by Pastor Fred Kinsey)How long does it take for a seed to grow? How long must we wait for our faith to germinate and come to fruition? Today Jesus and the disciples cross the tempestuous Sea of Galilee in the same boat that Jesus just preached from; the same boat he stood in to teach the crowds of followers on the shoreline two parables about seeds – seeds that are like the kingdom, or realm of God. In one, a Sower waits patiently – sleeping and rising, night and day, as they grow miraculously, of their own accord. And, the realm of God is also like the mustard seed, that grows from the smallest of all seeds, into the biggest of shrubs, and it is amazing, awesome, and unsurpassable! It was on the same day as Jesus preached, when evening had come, that he hailed his disciples to go across to the other side, across the deep and wide lake with him, in that very same boat. Four of the twelve were experienced fishers. And, as they set out, Jesus prepares to rest in the back, on a cushion in the stern, falling soundly asleep. All is calm; all is dark and still. Like the seed planted in the earth, and the Sower who sleeps, awaiting the growth of what has been planted, the Word of God which had been scattered and was taking root, mysteriously and miraculously germinating just under the surface, then protruding through the soil, as Jesus describes: first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head – like that – all is quiet and calm, on the lake. Until! Until, that signature storm blows up out of nowhere, a nor-easter, across the length of the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee, and the waves become so violent, they begin to slosh over inside, and the Disciples feel the panic of being swamped. And the adrenaline of fear that overtakes them, moves them to go and shake Jesus awake! The boat – or Nave, as we call our sanctuaries – of the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC was suddenly turned into a very, un-safe place this week. A stranger arrived during mid-week prayer hour, not to seek its sanctuary – where he was welcomed – but to bring a “storm” of violent retribution. This, Dylann Storm, a young white man, brought deep-seated devastation, threatening to swamp and sink their historic, predominantly black, church-boat. Indeed, according to friends, he intended to start a so called, “race war,” by his murderous actions. And although grief and senseless violence were perpetrated within its Nave, and such hatred fills us still with shocking and unbearable sorrow, even us, who are removed by so many miles, and so many state-lines away, and in some cases by race, yet and still, this heinous crime did not, and because of its parishioners, will not, produce violence in return by those who were victimized. In fact, at Mr. Roof’s hearing in court, the surviving family members – allowed to speak to their grief – were so articulate amidst their shock and tears, describing exactly what he had done to them and how they felt, concluded the exact opposite of his riotous intent. They forgave, 21 year old Dylann Storm Roof. The daughter of Ethel Lance, one of the women killed, put it this way: “I will never talk to her ever again. I will never be able to hold her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. May God forgive you and I forgive you.” The storm, was met with a fierce and well-formed faith by this congregant, a reflection of the Teacher in the boat, they know so well, at Emanuel AME Church. The disciples in the boat with Jesus were not so well prepared. Despite their training as fishers, despite answering the call to follow Jesus into the realm and kingdom of God, the Disciples’ faith had barely germinated, and was yet to form the full grain in the head of the wheat stalk. They could not ride out the storm, and rushed to wake up their Teacher, the One who had meant to give the boat and its navigation, over to them! Why are you afraid, asks Jesus? Have you still no faith?The Gospel question lingers in the air, is meant for us now, the followers of Jesus, all these centuries later, to fully digest. The question Jesus asks, begs for an answer, from every seeker. And not just a verbal, creedal, answer. This is not about denying the reality of fear, and replacing it with the proper Catechetical formula or scriptural passage! Who of us is not afraid of a storm at sea, and of so many even smaller things in our lives? Fear is a natural reaction when our lives, or our homes, or our families, or our communities, are threatened. This is about being formed in the faith, being committed, and trusting the One who calms the storms, becoming a healer, believing in a love that is stronger than hate, and can conquer death! These are the things we can learn, and we can internalize and make our own, here, as a part of this community of faith. Here in a sanctuary that is a safe boat, a place where we can close our eyes and know that God is present, know that anger and violence in the world and in our lives, does not, and will not, have the last word. And so, in this Nave, we can close our eyes together trustfully in prayer and praise, but we cannot close our eyes to the realities of evil that threaten us in the world. We, have the time and distance to process this story of the storm, and the question Jesus asks about faith. We are able to sleep on it and rise to a new day, confident that the earth produces of itself, produces the grains of wheat, like faith, in us. But only if we plant ourselves in the fields of the miraculously growing stalks, and develop deep roots. Even in the midst of the breaking news, the stories of the horrific shooting in Charleston, and news about the kind of white supremacist groups alive and well and recruiting young people online today, a member of my own family said, I’m not sure we need to hear that much detail! But eyes cannot be closed to waters raging all around us. Just as the seas were the place of the sea monster in ancient times, a belief that chaos and evil lived in the depths of the unexplored waters – so we know that the root cause of this shooting is from a long history of racism deeply embedded in our subconscious and our country’s institutions, alive and well, sometimes just under the surface, sometimes intertwined with us like weeds seeded amongst the wheat, but bobbing its head up in more visible ways, here and there, if we care to notice. And in the past 12 months or so, we have noticed. The Black Lives Matter movement has taken a more visible role, and the media has not altogether buried the story, as in the past. “We as a people have got to change,” President Obama said yesterday. “That’s how we honor the slain in Charleston, and in Newtown,” he said, and in Ferguson, NY, Baltimore, Chicago, LA, and every other community and city across the country. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton in her Pastoral Letter this week put it this way: “We might say that this was an isolated act by a deeply disturbed man. But we know that is not the whole truth. It is not an isolated event. And even if the shooter was unstable, the framework upon which he built his vision of race is not. Racism is a fact in American culture. Denial and avoidance of this fact are deadly.” St Paul in our 2nd Reading speaks of the ship wreaks and many other obstacles he had to endure, the fear he had to overcome in order to continue on in his faith: the beatings, imprisonments, riots, …hunger, [and his] …treat[ment] as an impostor. Without deep roots of faith, he couldn’t have continued on. Paul recounted how he transformed from, Christ persecutor, to powerful preacher and believer after his encounter with the risen Lord, and also, for him, after 3 years of Confirmation training and Bible Study, so to speak! Paul knew the power of forgiveness, and, enduring persecution and imprisonment, freely gave forgiveness, even in the face of death. In the boat with Jesus, the disciples didn’t need more faith after Jesus calmed the storm. They needed it in the midst of the storm, when their lives were on the line, when the Sea Monster was after them! The most chilling thing to me about Dylann Storm Roof was his statement that, he thought twice about what he was about to do in that SC sanctuary, because the people whom he was taught to hate – those dozen or so people he sat in Bible Study with – were so, nice to him! They treated him as a person, as an equal in the eyes of God, not returning the hate and racial slurs. And that makes the faith of their family members who survived, and the solidarity of the whole Mother Emanuel AME assembly, all the more strong in their witness to all of us, all the more tested and mature. They answer Jesus’ question about faith with a well-formed confidence, that despite this horrific tragedy, the evil and hatred of racism cannot, and will not win, but that forgiveness is stronger, and will prevail – because the spirit of Christ Jesus is alive in them. Let our church-boat, here at Unity, be as strong. And let our faith be as patient, as we sleep and rise, night and day, awaiting the miracle of God’s harvest to grow in our lives and make us into the disciples Jesus prays for, followers who ourselves can call on, and produce Peace in our communities, our congregation, and country.